Report: Al Qaeda wasn’t involved in Benghazi attack

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>>>a "new york times" report today has reignited a long-running battle between the
white house
and republicans over the circumstances surrounding last year's attack on the u.s. consulate in
benghazi
, libya, that killed four americans, including ambassador christopher stevens. our
white house
correspondent kristen welker is here with details.

>>good evening. the report is significant because it is the first to suggest that
al qaeda
did not play a role in the attack and that an american-made video which many perceived as anti-muslim may have sparked the unrest. republican congressman darryl issa, one of the most outspoken critics of the
white house
's handling of the
benghazi
attack, stood by his version of the
september 11
events on "meet the press" today.

>>al qaeda
is not decimated, and there was a group there that was involved that is linked to
al qaeda
.

>>issa has long asserted the administration lied about what led to the
2012
attack. four americans were killed, including ambassador christopher stevens.

>>so we have seen no evidence that the video was widely seen in
benghazi
. a very isolated area. or that it was a leading cause.

>>"the new york times"
david kirkpatrick
, who spent months interviewing libyans on the ground, tells a different story, writing that an american-made anti-muslim tape fueled the incident, and
benghazi
was not infiltrated by
al qaeda
but nonetheless contained grave local threats to american interests.

>>the people who attacked the compound were members of the militia the u.s. expected to protect the same mission.

>>white house
officials say they don't dispute "the times" report. the administration has pill laired by republicans who accused
president obama
of trying to down play a link to
al qaeda
for political purposes and his entire administration was on defense.

>>i take responsibility.

>>but it was
susan rice
, the u.n. ambassador at the time, who took the most heat after making this now infamous comment.

>>what happened in
benghazi
was, in fact, officially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in
cairo
. almost a
copy cat
of the demonstrations against our facility in
cairo
, which were prompted, of course, by the video.

>>today kirkpatrick said his report wasn't bolstering the original assessment.

>>in fact, she made some clear misstatements there. this was not a
street protest
, and it was not a
copy cat
of what happened in
cairo
. that was an unarmed
street protest
. this is a group of armed men who inspired by a video deliberately attacked the compound.

>>foreign policy expert david rode said politics are overshadowing the continuing threat.

>>what's frustrating is we're missing the real lessons here, which there are other threats in the
middle east
that aren't members of
al qaeda
.

>>now, the administration has vowed to prosecute those responsible for the
benghazi
attack, but so far no one has been